London rents 'unaffordable' says charity

London rents 'unaffordable' says charity

The housing and homelessness charity Shelter has revealed that renting a two-bedroom home in London is unaffordable for families earning less than £52,000.

The housing and homelessness charity Shelter has revealed that renting a two-bedroom home in London is unaffordable for families earning less than £52,000.

Almost one in four London families now rents from a private landlord – an increase of 70 per cent in the past two years.

Rent Watch London, part of Shelter's Homes for London campaign, has looked at how much families need to earn to be able to affordably rent a typical two-bedroom home.

It found that a family would need to take home almost £3,500 each month, equivalent to a yearly pre-tax salary of £52,000. In eight London boroughs, including Hackney and Tower Hamlets, families would need to earn more than £60,000 a year.

The rate of inflation on private rents in London was seven per cent in 2011, almost double the rate of inflation on the average London wage, indicating that family budgets are set to be squeezed even further as rent rises consistently outstrip inflation.

With the typical London household income less than £35,000, Shelter is warning that growing numbers of families are at crisis point, paying up to half of their income in rent each month as they struggle to continue living and working in the capital.

Shelter’s Homes for London campaign is demanding the next Mayor uses their influence to make housing a top priority, and stand up for London’s renters by brokering a better deal for them which protects families from what it describes as the capital’s out-of-control rental market.

The charity's Chief Executive Campbell Robb said: "These findings paint a worrying picture of thousands of families across the capital being stretched to the limit by the high cost of renting, praying they won’t be hit by another rent rise that could tip them over the edge.

"With so many Londoners locked out of home ownership, more and more families have no other option but to rent. But rents are now so out of touch with wages that some families are spending over half of their income just to keep a roof over their head, leaving little left for food, fuel and other essentials."

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